Brother and Sister!

Okay, so I FINALLY got Abbie to hold Brady. Up until now, she has actually been not too interested in holding him. Don't get me wrong, she has kissed, hugged, told him "nigh-nigh", etc, but she didn't show any interest in holding him. Today I asked her if she wanted to hold the baby, and she enthusiastically responded with "YEAH!" I tried to shove him in the corner so she couldn't do any damage if she shifted = ). These were the best pics I got... they aren't perfect, but they are definitely a start to the sibling love pics I'm sure I'll keep taking! She liked it so much that she actually had a mini-melt down when Mommy had to take Brady away. It was too sweet. She loves touching his nose for some reason, and his eyes, which is a lot more of a hazard... today she was extremely interested in his hands and feet and has held his hands quite a few times. We were all in our St. Patty's day garb as we are having a party tonight, so it was a perfect photo op! (You can click on the collage to enlarge it! )

Brady Nathan Merritt

Well!!! He's here!!!! I went in to get induced at 6am, they started pitocin at 7, Dr. broke my water at 8, and Brady was born at 10:18 am. CRAZY birth experience. The contractions got REAL intense as soon as the doctor broke my water, so I was able to ask for the epidural right away, it was great. I pushed twice, and he was out! I know some moms reading this right now hate me for that comment! HA! He was 9lbs, 2oz, and 19.5 in. We call him our little linebacker. = ) He is doing great. He is a little jaundiced, which we expected because Abbie was, so he's on the "Billi-Blanket" for a day or two. His levels weren't as high as Abbie's so hopefully we'll be done with that soon. I am doing well, very sore, and very tired, obviously, but under the circumstances we are awesome. We've gotten a lot of help from my parents, and then Nate's mom will come in few days, and my aunt will come as well, so we are blessed to have people who want to help us out! Nate was able to get a week now, and a week later off to have some family time, so that is great too. Thanks so much for all your prayers, support, encouragement etc.

Tomorrow Morning!!!

Well, it's finally here, the day when we get to meet our little man! We are going to the hospital at 6 am tomorrow morning to be induced. I'm so excited, scared, nervous, but mostly excited! It's weird having a specific date that you KNOW you're going in to have a baby. It takes a lot of the panic/drama out of the birthing process because you don't have to rush around because your water broke, or worry about timing contractions, so that has been nice. Please pray for a safe, healthy, painless, quick delivery of Brady into the world. We will post pictures as soon as possible! Thanks!